


The Perfect Gift

by Lavenderhydrangea



Series: Fallout 3/Viola Shaw [5]
Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Chit chat, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Slice of Life, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 10:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17423996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavenderhydrangea/pseuds/Lavenderhydrangea
Summary: In her spare time, Viola thinks of  what kind of gift would be perfect for her new companion. She gets a little help from a surprising source.





	The Perfect Gift

Viola had some ghoul indebted to her and she had absolutely no idea what to get him, which was sad since he practically gave Dogmeat a run for his money when it came to attaching himself to her hip. It wasn’t like he hadn’t made it easy and yet somehow it was still stupidly hard. Every time she thought of something there was a reason why she shouldn’t staring her dead in the face. Would he want a jacket? Hn. She was an idiot. The one he’d recently come to own looked thicker and warmer than anything that she could get her hands on--even more than that leather tunnel snakes jacket. Did ghouls even get cold? Was he just wearing it as armor? Ugh! Would he want a gun? Charon was the now late Ahzrukhal’s former body guard. He could’ve walked into any store and intimidated anyone into dropping a hefty discount at his feet if he wanted. Plus, she brought the whiny greaser a gun. She’d look cheap and unimaginative if she brought the same thing for them both.

 Moira had given her a transcript about some homemade soap but she wasn’t sure how’d he take it. She would absolutely not look forward to the smooth skin is mocking me and telling me I stink argument that could be born from that. Plus, it was Moira. No doubt the recipe would’ve required Mole rat fat or something more disgusting and off the wall.

 

The sound of Dogmeat’s claws scraping against the metal floor slowed her quick firing thoughts. His tail wagged and his ears perked up. He bore into her with a tennis ball in his mouth, expectant.

She stuck both her hands out for his drool drenched toy. Saying the thing had better days was a massive understatement. Whenever she threw the ball it would go flying but instead of having that nice round, _buong_ like it used to it landed with a soft thud.

 

“At least you’ll be easy to shop for.” She pitched the ball softly towards the leaky pipe going down the hill of her home.

 

Dogmeat tore after it for only a few steps before stopping and barking one of his barks where if translated to human speak would’ve fell somewhere between “where have you been” and “feed me”.

 

“What are you doing out here without your dead weight, Pooch?” She overhead.

 

“Hey, Tunnel Snake.”

 

“Speak of the devil.” Butch took a final step up the small ramp leading to her home with Dogmeat in tow. “No weird spin on the gang name or nothing? I’m touched.”

 

“ Sorry, I can’t even donate a half of a percent thinking of power. I need all I can get.”

 

Butch pondered her words and the environment. “Out here?”

 

After some _very meaningful_ back and forth with Butch over whether or not she’d been huffing jet when no one was looking, they migrated inside and fell into their usual tasks. Butch rearranged his hair tool kit for the umpteenth time and she--

 

“-- Hope you don’t plan on slogging through that to do list of yours. With the way your mind’s been working nowadays you might mistake a Raider camp for a settlement. Not that that’s my problem. I’m just not sure if they’ll let me hang around if you’re dead and my name isn’t on the deed.”

 

Maybe it was more like Butch fell into his usual tasks and she fought the urge to look at her Pip-Boy. Any other day and she would’ve had her eyes glued to the thing. Somewhere down the line it and it’s never ending tasks drained her--and being drained was no where near like she read in her Dad’s textbooks. She never woke up feeling the sluggishness she assumed she was suppose to be overwhelmed by and dark clouds never followed her unless she was caught in the rain. In fact, her body felt like it could take on all 24 hours of the day. It was just that all those hours were unusually needy. Whenever she’d finish something it lead to five more tasks.

 

Stress like that was why she had to sit back, smell the radiated air and think of small things like gifts.

 

Dogmeat’s insistent sniffs near Butch’s backpack stopped her from ~~forcing~~ asking Butch to help her come up with with something good for Charon.

 

“I keep telling you to train him to keep away from my stuff,” Butch said

 

“ I personally find Dogmeat’s insatiable hunger and curiosity charming.”

 

“Yeah and convenient, I bet.”

 

Butch emptied his backpack bit by bit. First, he took out a few Fancy Lads. She chided him about its lack of nutrients and its boat load of sugar, but was immediately shut down when he reminded her that a lot of his snacks disappeared too quickly for him to be scarfing them down on his own. Hey, Iguana Bits being nutrient dense didn’t exactly mean they tasted good.

Next, he took out some 10mm pistols, combat and hunting rifle pieces, and a shotgun barrel. Odd choices for someone who stuck to “Toothpick” and a sniper rifle.

 

 “Are you,” Viola scratched her neck, “are you opening a weapon’s shop to earn some extra caps?”

 

Butch feigned offense. “I could be holding it for somebody.”

 

“You could be but I don’t think you are.” Viola put her hands on her hips. “Lay it on me.”

 

“A customer gave me a deal. These in exchange for a couple of months worth of cuts. I didn’t really check to see if they were high quality and to be honest, I don’t think I could. But I do at least know the difference between functioning parts and trash out here.”

 

She stared.

 

“What?”

 

“You don’t really seem like a major gun head. I could understand a pack of bullets but,” She looked down at the contents of his bag again, “all of that? Did you lie about how big and bad the Tunnels Snakes are again?”

 

“He just gave them to me.”

 

“Right. Do you plan on using all of this or are you sharing?” Viola walked over to the desk for a closer look. Eight of the pistols were inoperable but the parts could’ve been recycled or sold in the future. The other two were decent, and could’ve probably been modded. The pieces were usable as well. There was obviously more in the bag.

She looked at Butch, question in her eyes. He paused for a bit but decided against whatever hesitation was present and shrugged. She pulled out a schematic to a Nuka grenade.

 

“We could open up a space in here and make a workbench area with all this.”

 

“I thought that ghoul that tails you would want some of this. So I’m sharing, I guess,” He said sheepishly.

 

“You got this for Charon?”

 

“I didn’t get it for him. I thought he would want it that’s all.”

 

“You picked up something with him in mind.” Suddenly something dawned on her. “Are you giving this to him as a gift?”

 

“No, it’s not like that!” Butch stammered.

 

“It _is_ a gift!”

* * *

 

The teasing lasted well into the next morning. Butch had no clients for the day so he stayed on the couch, and munched on his Fancy Lad cakes and Viola was still fighting her Pip- Boy’s call and her unabated glee.

 

“Since when did you have a heart?” She said, plopping on the recliner across from the couch.

 

“Oh, come on. Are you writing a book?”

 

“ Butchie going out his way for someone and they’re not in his gang or related to him? You got to admit that’s out of character for you.”

 

“I told you he gave it to me. I didn’t ask for any of it.”

 

Her stomach growled at her. Smugger than ever, Butch handed her a cake. She snatched it from his hands.

 

“My mind hasn’t gotten that jumbled in the past few days. You might not have begged on your knees or anything but you set up an exchange. If you didn’t the guy’s an idiot because he could’ve sold everything for caps.”

 

“Yeah, the exchange might have been me.” He said with caution but she knew she’d already caught him.

 

“You don’t like him. His face freaks you out,” She pressed.

 

“Yeah, well, you’ve been pushing us to get along even if it’s like trying to mix oil and water.”

 

“I’ve pushed you to do plenty of other things and you never listen.”

 

“ Let’s not act like I’m impossible.”

 

“A possible person would tell me what’s up. Besides, we’re due for a heart to heart.”

 

Butch took a breath. “You’re a pest. You know that, right?” He paused like he had no idea how to start. “He’s really on it when you take him out on missions with you.”

 

“ Protection is his MO. What’s your point?.”

 

“When I first came out here and recruited you I thought you never messed up.”

 

She beamed really big. “Tell me more.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Tee hee. Believe it or not. I kind of thought you were invincible, Pipsqueak. With me added you were beyond invincible. I found out though that the story’s a little different. According to you and your ghoul friend at least.”

 

“According to us?”

 

“Yeah. You ever hear yourself when you two come back from a mission? Sure you sniffle a little but he does mention a few times where he saved your skin. My favorite is when he said you ran out of bullets and tried to finish the rest of a firefight with a sword. It would have been curtains for you if he hadn’t shot the guy in the leg.”

 

She hummed in response and all Butch could do was laugh.

 

“He’s not too bad. Sounds like the type to have your back.” He rubbed his chin. “He might make a great Tunnel snake.”

 

“Not too bad? So it’s safe to say all it takes is some loyalty to get on your good side?”

 

“Yeah. Maybe. No. I ain’t that easy to read.”

 

She threw her empty Fancy Lad wrapper at him.

 

“I like that he keeps an eye on you when Dogmeat or I can’t be there,” He admitted.

 

“I’ve done well out here without anybody before.”

 

“True. I guess it’s something like what you said a while back. It’s easy to turn into a handwringer when it’s only us two out here.”

 

“Well, the vault _is_ open.”

 

“Yeah, but...”

 

“I get it. We’re in the fellowship of the forbidden.”

 

 A hush fell over the room.

 

“Think he’ll like it?”

 

“ I don’t think there’s anything he likes more than weapons. I’m sure he’ll like tinkering with them. You did good kid. I can go to Moira’s to buy a workbench to hold everything.”

 

Secretly and almost selfishly, she made off with a gift from of this too. The tension between Butch and Charon would cease now, meaning that one space in her life would be peaceful and harmonious.

 

Beautiful.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> How'd you enjoy the read? How was the emotion and character interaction? Let me know in the comments below.


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